Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, on page 14 of "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," makes the arresting statement, "Become conscious for a single moment that Life and intelligence are purely spiritual,—neither in nor of matter,—and the body will then utter no complaints." This is strictly in accord with her further statement (ibid., p. 598), "One moment of divine consciousness, or the spiritual understanding of Life and Love, is a foretaste of eternity."

The foregoing shows that time is not necessarily a factor in spiritual healing, for, as Mrs. Eddy points out, if one becomes conscious, even momentarily, that "Life and intelligence are purely spiritual," he will be immediately freed from any sense of suffering resulting from the belief that life and sensation are in matter. Thus it is possible, as has been proved many times through the demonstration of Christian Science, for one instantly to be healed of diseased and discordant conditions, even though they may, in belief, have become chronic.

However, in some instances, it may have required many hours or even days of faithful effort and consecrated prayer, or treatment, to have reached the conscious realization that "Life and intelligence are purely spiritual." But when that realization comes, one can no longer be deceived by the false claims of mortal mind to the contrary.

Jesus evidently abode continually in the consciousness of the allness of Spirit and the consequent nothingness of matter and its supposed laws, for in most, if not in all cases, he was able instantaneously to heal those who came to him for healing. However, he said to "those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."

What we need, then, is an abiding consciousness of the truth of being, as taught and demonstrated by the Master and elucidated in this age by the teachings of Christian Science. This Science reveals the fact that divine consciousness and real being are one. To know is to be. And the knowing which constitutes true being is what Jesus referred to when he said, "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free"—free from all the discords and limitations that seem to result from erroneous belief.

Christian Science is demonstrable knowledge of God, Spirit, and of the spiritual laws through which He is made manifest. Therefore, Christian Science is not demonstrated through merely believing in it as a kind of faith cure or as a phase of emotional religion. It can be demonstrated only through understanding it to be divine Science, and through applying it scientifically to the solution of human problems in accordance with the Principle and rules explained in the Christian Science textbook.

The basic fact of the divine power to heal even what appears to be incurable disease was proved to our Leader when she herself was healed by it of conditions that it was believed would prove fatal. As is now well known, she later, through intensive and prayerful study of the Scriptures, discovered the Science of healing through the power of divine Mind.

Mrs. Eddy, her early students, and her later followers have proved beyond doubt, throughout the years, that Christian Science is Science, and that it can be demonstrated by those who gain an abiding consciousness that "Life and intelligence are purely spiritual,—neither in nor of matter."

Since Life is Spirit and man is spiritual, there is no actuality in any of the false beliefs based upon the assumption that man has existence separate from God—his divine Principle—or that man is subject to any of the conditions which appear to exist because of so-called mortal or material laws. All real law is divine. Therefore man is subject to no other law. All real consciousness is divine. Therefore, man is cognizant of nothing apart from Mind and its manifestation. And Mrs. Eddy says (Science and Health, p. 276), "Man and his Maker are correlated in divine Science, and real consciousness is cognizant only of the things of God."

In the realm of reality—"real consciousness"—there is nothing to cognize except "the things of God"—the ideas of divine Mind. Since Mind is infinite and, therefore, allinclusive, there is nothing outside of Mind and its universe of ideas. The kingdom of heaven—of reality—is within. It is subjective, not objective, and what appears to the physical senses to be an objective universe exists only as belief, and consists entirely of false concepts of the so-called human, mortal mind. These false mortal concepts counterfeit and, therefore, misrepresent the spiritual creation of divine Mind. An abiding consciousness of these divine facts will finally establish the "new heaven" and "new earth" which appeared to the spiritual vision of St. John.

George Shaw Cook